Unexpected request to confirm tax residency - Halifax Share Dealing

jrh22542254

Unexpected request to confirm tax residency - Halifax - Page 26 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

This is a continuation of the above thread.
I too received from Halifax (Share Dealing) a letter for me to confirm where I was a resident for tax purposes. As I have been a permanent UK resident for over 60 years I was surprised to receive it!
So rather than read or fill in the gobbledygook form I logged into my Halifax online account and asked questions about it on the online chat function.
To cut a long discussion short they said- "We have all your residency information up to date so please ignore the letter and thank you for checking with us. I have you listed as a UK resident and a NI number for tax purposes xxxxxxxxx is this correct?"
I said "NO my NIN is xxxxxxxxx, maybe thats the problem?"
They said "Yes we are currently completing a check of all NIN's as you must hold one now to trade. As this is incorrect it will of generated a letter, we usually notify you online.If you can send the forms back with the correct information so we can update it as soon as possible."

So I said yes I will complete the form.

The next day I looked at the forms and it did not specifically ask me to state my National Insurance Number, just some reference to including a TIN (Tax Identification Number) with no definition of this that included it might be your NIN! I had to use google to find that Halifax had in fact meant it to include your NIN!

So I called the Halifax Share Dealing number and the person confirmed that I was not alone in being totally confused by the communication and advised me that I did not need to fill it in. When I told them of my previous converaston with the online chat function they eventually corrected my NIN over the phone.

They agreed to register my concerns / feedback internally.

These were - 

1. Why send a form out without actually saying what information they wanted to confirm (eg. NIN)?
2. Why not just ask people to contact Halifax to resolve account queries via branch, online, phone etc?
3. Why not give a proper definition of TIN as does the Halifax website (says it can mean NIN)?

Have others experienced the same confusion?

Thank you. 

badmemory

You are not alone.  If you look back a few years ago on here there was a lot about this USA rubbish.  Just to add to the problems the letter looked like a scam as it was Halifax in black & white (really no blue at all).  They really don't care what you put just so long as you can prove that you are not liable for USA tax.  Oh and the Halifax call centre had no idea what it was & did not recognise the phone no on the letter - scam right.  Got me more than the interest on my regular saver though!  What a shambles.  It seems they have not got any better.  My son was buying something the other day, suddenly they decide to check, so the automated call comes through, gets the end of his name cut off & from a number which google says is a scam call, so I hung up.  Great mother has now got his card blocked.  I have got to switch banks.